Did you ever pick a book just because of its book cover? If yes, then don’t feel guilty because everyone does. People say that don’t judge a book by its cover, but it’s not true these days. When we first hold a book, the primary thing that we notice is its cover. And then we dig into it to discover what’s inside. A book cover is not just a title page; it is a brief view of what is covered in the book. It’s a visual summary that describes the story of a book. Now you will be wondering that it’s a challenging task, which is true. But you can master it too. In this article, we have covered how you can design a great book cover. So keep reading and become a pro.
Steps To Become A Master Of Designing A Book Cover
People assume that designing a book jacket will be simple; just arrange the title and good images, and it’s done.
But in reality, it’s not true. If you ever dive into a book cover’s design process, you’ll get to know that it’s a tough job. To create a book cover, you have to consider its genre, target audience, tone and theme of the book. And all of this requires a lot of research and observation. Even if someone just asks you to design childrens book covers, you can’t even create that.
But if you want to learn this art, you can compose a great one with the details mentioned below.
Find The Inspirations
Whenever we plan to design something, the first thing that we do is to find some related examples.
Book designing requires some inspiration too. You have to research various books that associate with the idea of yours. And you also have to inquire how the designer has made a link between a book cover and its theme. Moreover, you have to observe the colours and font choices as well.
You can also take help from the internet for different ideas and design inspirations. Moreover, it’s easy to search for books on the Internet as compared to finding them in the library.
Make An Outline Of The Book Theme
When you find a bunch of inspirations, it’s time to make an outline as a guide for your book design.
While choosing some elements from inspired book covers, you must find a unique feature that makes your design stand out. Thus, you have to reread your book and highlight some of the ideas around which you can compose your book cover.
It is recommended to jot down all the pointers on a paper. And then, one by one, find a connection between the theme of your book and those points. When you outline the idea for your book cover, it’s time to find imagery related to the theme and genre.
If you find this step hard, you can take help from various online Book Design UK sites. They will ease your research work and save your time. So you can focus on other things.
Consider The Genre
Whether your book is fictional or self-help, keeping the genre in mind while designing the book cover is vital.
You can’t put romantic elements on a history book’s cover, and you can’t even add serious features on a children’s book’ cover.
Therefore, if you want to avoid these blunders, make a cover that represents the genre of a book.
One For All Sizes
Another element that you should think about is not cluttering your book cover.
Due to the internet, composing a book of any size has become easier. And for this reason, if you clutter your book cover with a lot of graphics and text, it will become a mess if you resize it. Thus, it is recommended to keep your cover simple so it will not destroy its look when resized.
Spotlight Your Title
What is the feature of a book from which you remember it?
It’s the title, right?
Therefore, you have to keep the size of the title big enough so it can be seen from a distance. It should not be too small that it is not to be recognised from far. And not too big that it disturbs the design of the book.
Thus, make sure that the graphics don’t steal the spotlight of the title. And it should be seeable in both small and big sizes.
Find Images That Represent Your Theme
How can we forget the main thing that catches the eye?
The Graphics and Images.
Often, Even people who don’t read books buy them just because they are attracted to the graphic.
The reason can be to decorate their shelves or keep them on the side table as the print fascinates them. No matter what the reason is, the graphics of the cover plays a vital role in increasing the sells.
Therefore, invest more time in thing about it. But make sure it represents the visual summary of what’s inside and is also related to the genre.
Pick Your Colour & Font
While talking about designing something, how can we leave the colours and fonts behind?
They both are the essential magic of a book cover, and we can not miss any of it. The colours are what make the look of the book appealing to the eyes. Moreover, the fonts enhance the beauty and visibility of the title.
Therefore, it is recommended that you use bold and dark-coloured fonts to make the title readable. Moreover, if you want to hold and pull people’s eyes towards your book, use contrasting colours. But ensure that the colours and graphics wouldn’t dim the light of the title.
Conclusion:
Designing a book cover is an arduous task.
But if you want to master this skill, then our guide will surely help you in this journey of yours. We have gathered all the considerable points that you should analyse while designing a winning book cover.
Moreover, after you are finished with your design work, you can ask for feedback from your friends and close ones. Their opinions can guide you if there is any need for improvement.
You can’t become an expert in a night. It requires a lot of effort and practice. Therefore, taking feedback is essential for self-improvement. And for mastering the art of book design, you can start by following the above steps.
So what are you waiting for? A lot of amazing book covers are waiting for you to explore them.
